Untitled
by Dizi Lyali
Summary: Arthur and the Knights find out Mordred lied about safely escorting Merlin home. They find him in bad condition. Arthur gets suspicious. Tag to 5x10 'The Kindness of Strangers'. Possible reveal fic.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Merlin.**

'M'- Merlin's POV

'A'- Arthur's POV

'G'- Gaius' POV

(I think you get the point….)

 **AN: This is my very first fan fiction ever. I'm very nervous about it and I want to improve my writing, so please review! Concrit is more than welcome, but please don't be a jerk. My self-esteem is low enough.**

 **Chapter 1**

M:

The crossbow bolt came out of nowhere, seeming to simply appear in Merlin's stomach. The warlock grunted in surprise and pain before falling to the ground. In anger, Finna threw the attacker into a tree with the full force of her magic.

"Emrys!" she cried, running to his side.

"I'm alright," he replied. "We need to keep moving. There may be more coming soo- AHH!" Merlin cried out as Finna pulled the arrow from his body. She threw it away in disgust.

"Apologies, Emrys. I needed to remove the bolt and I thought you were distracted." He shrugged away her apology.

"Where can we go?"

"There is an abandoned tower not far from here. We should be safe there."

Merlin struggled to stand, but with the help of the druid woman he was able to get to his feet. Finna put out the fire while he leaned on his sword, and together they started toward the tower for shelter.

A:

Arthur jogged lightly down the front steps of the castle as his knights came riding into the courtyard. He lifted his hand in greeting as they began to dismount.

"Where's Merlin?" Gwaine called out. "I figured he would be glued to your side by now."

"I've been wondering the same thing. And what do you mean 'by now'? I haven't seen him for two days."

"He came back to the castle last night." The usually grinning knight looked confused and concerned, while the king looked thunderous.

"'Came back last night'? He left castle grounds?!"

"We came across him while on patrol yesterday. He said he was picking herbs for Gaius. We made him stay with us, but when we woke this morning Mordred told us he'd walked him back to the bridge."

Both men turned and looked suspiciously at the young knight behind Gwaine. After a confession and several apologies from the knight in question, Arthur and the knights saddled fresh horses and left in search of the wayward manservant.


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Merlin.**

'M'- Merlin's POV

'A'- Arthur's POV

'G'- Gaius' POV

(You guys are smart, you know the drill.)

 **A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorite! I'm so excited! Keep them coming! Concrit still welcome, but please don't be a jerk.**

 **Chapter 2**

M:

Night had fallen and Merlin could hear Morgana and her mercenaries leaving the tower he lay on top of. Tears streaked down his face in mourning of the brave druid woman that had given her life for his.

When he was sure everyone had gone, he stumbled and tripped his way down the tower steps and into the forest below. He was saddened by the discovery that they had taken Finna's body but knew that, like the rest, he had no time or freedom to mourn her.

The warlock could feel the loss of blood weakening his body. Finding, a branch strong enough to support his weight, Merlin began his journey home. He didn't make it far. He wasn't even halfway home when his legs gave out and his world gave way to darkness.

A:

Arthur refused to stop the search for Merlin, even when night came, because he didn't want to miss any sign of his frien- er, servant. The light of the full moon would have to be enough. Even the level-headed Leon couldn't sway him.

The king listened and watched for any movement in the still forest. It took several hours, but his vigilance was rewarded as he caught sight of a fallen figure in a small clearing. Moonlight shone on his ebony hair, but the light wasn't enough to tell if his friend was breathing or not.

"Hold!" Arthur shouted, holding up a fist to halt the searching knights around him. He swiftly dismounted and ran towards Merlin, Gwaine close behind him.

"Merlin!" the king cried as he rolled the servant over. Arthur smelled the blood just before he saw it. Appearing black in the moonlight, it covered his entire stomach. The blonde panicked and almost slammed his ear to Merlin's chest, only relaxing slightly when he heard the faint, weakened heartbeat. Terrified for the man he considered a brother, he looked over at Gwaine who was just on the other side of Merlin.

"He's alive, but we need to get him home now." The knight nodded and stood, walking around the two men.

"We leave for Camelot now!"

As the other knights brought the horses closer and began to mount, Arthur talked to his best friend.

"Too lazy to get yourself home, Merlin, as usual. If you weren't such an idiot, these things would never happen. Just wake up, dollophead. Help me out here." Merlin groaned in pain as his king lifted him off of the ground. Quieter now, Arthur spoke again:

"Don't worry, though. I can carry you. I can always carry you."


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Merlin.**

'M'- Merlin's POV

'A'- Arthur's POV

'G'- Gaius' POV

(and on, and on…)

 **A/N: Here's chapter 3, a few days early. It is a little bit rushed, as I don't really know if I can post this Wednesday. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews! I love hearing from you guys! And thanks for the tips! I tried to add more detail to this chapter, so let me know what you think. I'm going to add more detail from now on, and I'll go back and redo the first two chapters. (Any ideas for a title? That's been kicking my a**…. Ideas would be great!)**

 **Anywho…. Thanks for reading and supporting me. It means a lot, guys! Sending out tons of love to all of you!**

 **As always, concrit is more than welcome, but don't be a jerk.**

 **Chapter 3**

A:

The ride home seemed to take forever, even when they pushed their horses to their limits. Arthur could hear nothing but Merlin's harsh breathing and his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. He had one hand holding the reins of his horse and the other was directly over his brother's heart, clutching the younger man to his chest. The faint heartbeat under his palm only increased his concern and upset.

As they approached the gates of Camelot, Gwaine raced forward to warn Gaius and prepare him for what was to come. Arthur was grateful for the cover of night and the lack of people that would have hindered their progress. The king loved his people, but they would have been an unwanted barrier between Merlin and the physician he so desperately needed.

He stopped his horse at the castle steps and Percival was there immediately to help him with Merlin. Once the gentle giant had the servant in his arms he ran up the steps and toward the physician's chambers. The blond king was hot on his heels, leaving his horse with Elyan who- along with Leon- had the presence of mind to take their animals to the stables.

When they arrived at Gaius', Arthur barely noticed Gwaine setting and lighting candles all over the room. His main focus was on locating Merlin's guardian, who he found calmly gathering supplies in his cupboards. He must have heard them come in- not that that was surprising, on account of the noise- because he spoke without turning around. It didn't take much to figure out that he was delaying looking at his ward.

"Place him on the table so I can reach his wound easier." Percival carefully arranged the dark haired man on the table for easy access. Arthur was doing his best to keep from pacing. He roughly ran his right hand through his hair, uncaring or just not noticing that it was covered in his best friend's lifeblood. This promised to be a long, emotionally taxing night.

G:

Not long after the king had arrived, Gaius had all the necessary supplies in a basket. He took a few deep breaths. The father in him was not prepared for what he was about to see.

Finally, Gaius could stall no longer. He turned to face his biggest nightmare. For a moment, all he could do was stare at Merlin, stomach covered in his own blood, head lolled to one side. His deathly pale skin almost glowed in the candlelight, and his cheeks seemed sunken in the light.

"Oh, Merlin," Gaius whispered. "What have you done to yourself, my boy?" Almost in reply, blood dribbled out of the young warlock's mouth, spurring his mentor into action.

Two hours and a sleeping draught later, the physician stepped back from the table.

"I've repaired as much of the damage as I could," he said as he washed his surrogate son's blood off of his hands. "It's all up to Merlin now."

Gwen moved from where she was standing with the knights and Arthur to smooth Merlin's hair. She had entered the room with her brother not long after Gaius had started working.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" The queen looked sad but determined, almost as if her soft petting could tether the raven-haired man's life to his body.

"I'm not sure, my lady. He has lost a lot of blood. If he makes it through the night his chances will improve greatly, but we need to watch him closely and make sure he gets plenty of water. His body needs the fluids." He didn't tell her he was counting on Merlin's magic to save him, or that he was afraid it wouldn't. Gaius himself had discreetly pushed as much of his own magic into the internal stitches, hoping to jumpstart the healing process.

"I'll fetch some fresh water myself." No one stopped her on her way out the door, because they knew she needed to do something. Gwaine, however, stepped up and took her place, petting his friend's hair absentmindedly.

"Can we move him to a bed now?" the knight asked. The physician nodded his consent and gestured to his own cot in the corner of the room. The round table knights worked together to move the young warlock to a-slightly- more comfortable place. As soon as they got him situated and covered with a blanket, Gwen came back in with a bucket full of water. The queen and physician worked together to get Merlin to drink as much of the cool liquid as possible.

"What now?" asked Percival, usually silent knight voicing the question they all wanted to know.

Everyone situated themselves around the room, only Gaius and Arthur taking up position right next to the unconscious servant. The old man sighed.

"Now we wait."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:**

Okay, guys... I know I've been gone a long time and that is VERY bad press for a new author. -cringe- A lot of crap has been coming my way and I've been feeling pretty down about it, but I'm in a better place now.

I noticed a bunch of new people following my story! Thank you so much for the support! Like I said in one of my earlier chapters, I would like to finish this story before I go back and edit. I am revising the next chapter so it should be up before the new year. I am so sorry for the delay, and thank you so much for the follows. I'm going to try not to let you guys down again.

Much love,

Dizi


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Soooo….. This is a few days late. I suck at self-imposed deadlines.**

 **I am adding a new point of view. 'Gw' will be Gwaine, not Gwen.**

 **As always, I don't own Merlin. Thanks for reading and for all the support!**

 **Here we go….**

'Gw':

Six days. Gwaine's best friend has been unconscious on a bed for six days. Six days of mopping Merlin's forehead, trying to force water and broth down his throat, watching him to make sure he didn't croak in the night. By the gods, Gwaine needed a drink. If this was anybody but Merlin maybe he could rest, sleep, eat. As it stood, Gwaine was out of patience. The young servant needed to wake up soon or he was going to hit somebody. Probably Arthur.

It was getting harder and harder to deal with the king's constant back and forth emotions. Pretending to not care one minute and then mumbling something about brothers to the unconscious Merlin as if no one knew the servant was the most important person in the word to him. But the knight couldn't leave. He couldn't sleep, he couldn't eat, and sometimes he couldn't breathe.

Years ago, the rogue told himself that he wouldn't let himself care for anyone, but Merlin worked his way into his heart with one goofy smile and a little bit of secret magic. Not that he would ever mention the magic. To anyone. The last few years of the knight's life should attest to that. Maybe he should hit Arthur. Because of the magic thing. And the never treating Merlin right thing. And the being a prat thing. He couldn't though. Merlin would be very upset with him when he woke up. There was no way Arthur wouldn't tell him, and then Merlin would look at Gwaine like a hurt puppy, and- Shit. It's time to force more water down Merlin's throat.

The brunette stood up and stretched, turning his back on the bed his friend lay on and going to the desk for the water pitcher. He poured a cupful of the cool liquid and turned back toward the bed. What he saw there made him drop the cup on the floor and stumble a bit.

"By the gods…"

'A':

"That will be all for today, my lords. Thank you."

Arthur sighed quietly to himself as his councilmembers nodded to him and departed from the meeting room. The meeting had taken three hours, and that was much longer than he wanted to spend with anyone but Merlin and his wife.

As if thinking of her was a summoning, Gwen walked up to meet him as he left the room. The king kissed her cheek and offered his arm before steering her gently in the direction of the physician's chambers. His queen just smiled slightly and picked up her pace to match his. It didn't take her long to start a conversation.

"How was the council meeting?"

"Way too damn long." He bit out before grimacing slightly and softening his voice. "Sorry, love. I am just tired." Gwen smile grew sly.

"I am sure you are. All that worrying about Merlin must be exhausting."

"Yes. But for the god's sake don't tell him. I'll never hear the end of it." Both king and queen refused to even talk as if Merlin wouldn't wake soon. "Who is with him now?"

"Gwaine."

"Still? He's been there almost a whole day by now."

"He refuses to leave. I'm worried about him."

"I'm sure he's fine."

"He's not sleeping."

"Knights are trained to go without sleep."

"He's not eating, Arthur."

"He eats a lot usually, so I'm sure he's just not hungry."

"He's only drinking water." Arthur paused for a moment.

"No ale or mead?"

"None. He's not talking to anyone, either."

"Alright. Now I'm worried." He grins wolfishly at his wife who smacks him on the arm.

"You are terrible." They laugh quietly for a minute and Gwen sighs. "Seriously, though. I don't think he will take it well if anything happens to Merlin."

Arthur is quiet as they climb the stairs to Gaius'.

"Neither will I," he says quietly as he opens the door. Gaius is mixing some kind of potion as they walk in the door. Before the king can ask for the latest news, a loud clattering noise comes from Merlin's room right before a loud whoop.

Everyone moves at the same time, but Arthur reaches the door first and slams it open. Merlin's open eyes and goofy grin from where he's crushed in Gwaine's arms seems like the greatest miracle in the world.


End file.
